Introduction

The Qualcomm Snapdragon 6 Gen 1, Samsung Exynos 9820, and MediaTek Dimensity 7100 span an unusually wide release window for a three-way comparison: November 2018, September 2022, and January 2026. This matters because the Exynos 9820 was a genuine flagship chip in its day (powering the Galaxy S10 series), while the other two are budget and mid-range parts from later years — so this comparison tests whether newer, smaller-node mid-range silicon has actually caught up to an aging flagship. All three chips tie exactly on NanoReview’s composite score, each winning a different individual sub-score, which makes the category breakdown the real story. Every figure below comes from NanoReview’s published specification and benchmark data for each chip.

Processor Overview

These three chips occupy very different points in mobile chip history despite being compared here as peers. The Snapdragon 6 Gen 1, announced September 2022 on Samsung’s 4nm process, is a mid-range chip pairing four Cortex-A78 and four Cortex-A55 cores with the modest Adreno 710 GPU. The Exynos 9820, announced November 2018 on Samsung’s older 8nm process, was a genuine flagship in its time, using Samsung’s own custom Mongoose M4 prime cores alongside Cortex-A75 and A55 cores, paired with a 12-core Mali-G76 GPU. The Dimensity 7100, announced January 2026 on TSMC’s 6nm process, is the newest chip here but is classified as mid-range, using the same Cortex-A78/A55 core combination as the Snapdragon 6 Gen 1, paired with a cut-down 2-core Mali-G610 MP2 GPU.

CPU Architecture & Processing Power

CPU results split in a genuinely surprising way given the age gap involved. On AnTuTu 11’s total score, the Dimensity 7100 leads at 785,352, ahead of the Exynos 9820’s 744,321 (about 5.5% behind) and the Snapdragon 6 Gen 1’s 737,054 (about 6.6% behind) — with the Exynos 9820 and Snapdragon 6 Gen 1 essentially tied with each other (under 1% apart). AnTuTu’s CPU sub-test shows the same order: Dimensity 7100 leads at 322,354, ahead of Snapdragon 6 Gen 1’s 306,912 and Exynos 9820’s 297,306.

Geekbench 6 tells a different story. On single-core, the Exynos 9820 — the oldest chip here by up to 7.5 years — actually leads at 1008, narrowly ahead of the Dimensity 7100’s 995 (about 1.3% behind) and clearly ahead of the Snapdragon 6 Gen 1’s 930 (about 8.4% behind). On multi-core, the Dimensity 7100 leads at 2925, with the Exynos 9820 and Snapdragon 6 Gen 1 essentially tied (2710 vs 2700, under 0.4% apart). NanoReview’s CPU Performance sub-score reflects a close three-way spread: Dimensity 7100 scores 35, Exynos 9820 scores 34, and Snapdragon 6 Gen 1 scores 32.

The headline finding here is that the Exynos 9820’s custom Mongoose M4 cores, despite launching on a much larger 8nm process nearly eight years ago, still edge out a 2022 mid-range chip’s single-core performance and come close to matching it on multi-core — a genuine testament to how much mid-range silicon has been constrained by cost rather than raw capability in the years since.

GPU & Gaming Performance

This is where the age gap matters least and the flagship-versus-budget distinction matters most. On theoretical output, the Exynos 9820’s Mali-G76 MP12 leads at 404.4 GFLOPS, ahead of the Snapdragon 6 Gen 1’s Adreno 710 at 346.1 GFLOPS and the Dimensity 7100’s Mali-G610 MP2 at just 256 GFLOPS — the lowest of the three despite being the newest chip.

Measured results confirm the Exynos 9820’s GPU advantage dramatically. On AnTuTu’s GPU sub-score, it leads at 132,919, about 27% ahead of the Dimensity 7100’s 104,399 and about 79% ahead of the Snapdragon 6 Gen 1’s 74,254. On Geekbench GPU Compute, the gap widens further: Exynos 9820 scores 4812, more than double the Dimensity 7100’s 2401 and over three times the Snapdragon 6 Gen 1’s 1527. On 3DMark Steel Nomad Light, Exynos 9820 again leads at 367 versus the Dimensity 7100’s 278 (about 32% behind) and the Snapdragon 6 Gen 1’s 200 (about 83% behind) — though it’s worth noting all three scores are extremely low, reflecting how demanding this particular test is for non-flagship hardware regardless of release year. NanoReview’s Gaming Performance sub-score confirms the pattern: Exynos 9820 leads at 14, ahead of the Dimensity 7100’s 11 and the Snapdragon 6 Gen 1’s 9.

The practical explanation is straightforward: the Exynos 9820 was built as a true flagship GPU (a 12-core Mali-G76 configuration), while both newer rivals use heavily cut-down, 2-pipeline budget GPUs. Process node and release year don’t overcome that gap in raw graphics silicon here.

Manufacturing Process & Efficiency

Process nodes vary widely: 4nm (Samsung) for the Snapdragon 6 Gen 1, 8nm (Samsung) for the Exynos 9820, and 6nm (TSMC) for the Dimensity 7100. Only the Snapdragon 6 Gen 1 has a disclosed TDP, at 7W; neither rival has a TDP figure in the supplied data.

NanoReview’s Battery life sub-score shows the expected pattern given the node gap: Snapdragon 6 Gen 1 leads at 91, the Dimensity 7100 follows at 87, and the Exynos 9820 trails clearly at 76 — its larger, older 8nm process is the one area where its flagship-era GPU advantage comes at a real, measurable efficiency cost.

RAM, Memory & Storage Support

The Dimensity 7100 supports the highest maximum RAM at 16GB, ahead of both the Snapdragon 6 Gen 1 and Exynos 9820, which are capped at 12GB. Memory type and bandwidth tell a different story, though: despite using the oldest standard, LPDDR4X, the Exynos 9820 has the highest bandwidth at 34.1 Gb/s, ahead of the Snapdragon 6 Gen 1 and Dimensity 7100, which both use newer LPDDR5 but are limited to 22 Gb/s on a narrower 2×16-bit bus. Storage support is mixed: the Snapdragon 6 Gen 1 supports UFS 2.2 and UFS 3.1, the Exynos 9820 supports UFS 2.1 and UFS 3.0, and the Dimensity 7100 supports UFS 3.1 only.

AI & NPU Capabilities

The Snapdragon 6 Gen 1 and Exynos 9820 both list an NPU as present, without a model name or TOPS figure disclosed for either. The Dimensity 7100 has no NPU listed at all in the supplied data. Not enough disclosed data exists to compare AI throughput across these three chips.

ISP, Camera & Video Capabilities

Camera resolution favors the two newer chips: the Snapdragon 6 Gen 1 and Dimensity 7100 both support a single 1x200MP sensor, while the Exynos 9820 is limited to 1x32MP or 2x16MP — a reflection of how camera-sensor resolution has scaled up industry-wide since 2018 far more than raw chip performance has.

Video capability inverts that pattern sharply. The Exynos 9820 supports 8K capture at 30FPS and 4K at up to 150FPS — a remarkably strong spec for a 2018 chip and the clear best of the three. The Snapdragon 6 Gen 1 is limited to 4K at 30FPS, and the Dimensity 7100 is limited to just 2K at 30FPS — the weakest video spec of the three, despite being the newest chip by several years.

Display Support

The Exynos 9820 supports a maximum display resolution of 3840 x 2400, dramatically higher than both the Snapdragon 6 Gen 1 and Dimensity 7100, which are both limited to 2520 x 1080. As with other multimedia specs here, this is a chip-level ceiling that reflects the Exynos 9820’s flagship-tier original positioning rather than anything about release year.

Modem, 5G & Connectivity

The Snapdragon 6 Gen 1 has the fastest disclosed modem of the three: up to 2900 Mbps download and 1600 Mbps upload, well ahead of the Exynos 9820’s 2000/316 Mbps — the upload gap especially is large. The Dimensity 7100 has no modem name or speed disclosed in the supplied data, so it can’t be compared directly on this spec.

Wi-Fi generation is tied across all three at Wi-Fi 6. Bluetooth favors the newest chip: Dimensity 7100 supports Bluetooth 5.3, ahead of the Snapdragon 6 Gen 1’s 5.2 and the Exynos 9820’s 5.0. GNSS coverage favors the two newer chips, which both list six systems (GPS, GLONASS, Beidou, Galileo, QZSS, NAVIC), versus just four for the Exynos 9820 (missing QZSS and NAVIC).

Benchmark Comparison

All three chips were tested with AnTuTu 11, Geekbench 6, and 3DMark Steel Nomad Light, so those comparisons are valid across all three.

AnTuTu 11 total: Dimensity 7100 leads at 785,352, ahead of Exynos 9820 (744,321, about 5.5% behind) and Snapdragon 6 Gen 1 (737,054, about 6.6% behind) — with the latter two essentially tied with each other.

Geekbench 6: Exynos 9820 leads single-core (1008) narrowly over Dimensity 7100 (995) and more clearly over Snapdragon 6 Gen 1 (930). Dimensity 7100 leads multi-core (2925), with Exynos 9820 and Snapdragon 6 Gen 1 nearly tied (2710 vs 2700). On GPU Compute, Exynos 9820 dominates at 4812 against the Dimensity 7100’s 2401 and Snapdragon 6 Gen 1’s 1527.

3DMark Steel Nomad Light: Exynos 9820 leads at 367, ahead of Dimensity 7100 (278) and Snapdragon 6 Gen 1 (200) — though all three scores are low, typical for non-flagship hardware on this demanding test.

PCMark 3.0: Dimensity 7100 leads at 12,106, narrowly ahead of Snapdragon 6 Gen 1’s 11,988 (under 1% apart) and well ahead of Exynos 9820’s 9,004. It’s worth noting the Snapdragon 6 Gen 1’s result is backed by the largest sample size of the three (10 phones tested, versus 2 for the Dimensity 7100 and 3 for the Exynos 9820), so its figure likely carries more real-world reliability even though it’s technically second here.

Real-World Performance

Everyday use: Dimensity 7100 has the strongest overall CPU throughput profile (AnTuTu total, AnTuTu CPU sub-score, Geekbench multi-core), but the Exynos 9820’s single-core lead means short, burst-style tasks may feel comparably snappy despite its age.

Gaming: Exynos 9820 is the clear leader on every measured GPU benchmark, a direct result of its flagship-tier 12-core Mali-G76 GPU versus the heavily cut-down GPUs in both newer, mid-range rivals.

AI: Only the Snapdragon 6 Gen 1 and Exynos 9820 list an NPU as present, and neither has a disclosed TOPS figure; the Dimensity 7100 doesn’t list an NPU at all. Not enough data exists to compare AI capability here.

Camera/Video: The two newer chips support higher camera sensor resolution, but the Exynos 9820 has a dramatically stronger video capture and playback spec (8K/30FPS, 4K/150FPS) and the highest display resolution of the three.

Battery/efficiency: Snapdragon 6 Gen 1’s newer 4nm process gives it the clearest efficiency win, with the Exynos 9820’s older 8nm node showing the real-world cost of its flagship-tier GPU.

Strengths & Weaknesses

Snapdragon 6 Gen 1

• Strength: Highest Battery life sub-score (91) and the fastest, fully disclosed modem (2900/1600 Mbps) of the three.
• Weakness: Lowest score on every measured GPU benchmark (AnTuTu GPU sub-score, Geekbench GPU Compute, 3DMark Steel Nomad Light).
• Weakness: Lowest Geekbench 6 single-core score (930) and lowest maximum display resolution tied with the Dimensity 7100.

Exynos 9820

• Strength: Leads every measured GPU benchmark, plus the highest display resolution (3840×2400) and strongest video spec (8K/30FPS, 4K/150FPS) of the three, despite being announced nearly eight years earlier.
• Strength: Highest Geekbench 6 single-core score (1008) and highest memory bandwidth (34.1 Gb/s) despite using the oldest memory type.
• Weakness: Lowest Battery life sub-score (76) by a wide margin, and the narrowest GNSS coverage (4 systems) and oldest Bluetooth version (5.0) of the three.

Dimensity 7100

• Strength: Highest AnTuTu 11 total score, AnTuTu CPU sub-score, and Geekbench 6 multi-core score of the three, plus the highest RAM ceiling (16GB).
• Strength: Newest Bluetooth version (5.3) and tied-broadest GNSS coverage.
• Weakness: Lowest theoretical GPU GFLOPS (256) and weakest video spec of the three (2K/30FPS only, versus 4K or 8K for both rivals).
• Weakness: No NPU or modem disclosed in the supplied data.

Best Processor For Different Users

• Best for Gaming: Exynos 9820 — leads every measured GPU benchmark by a wide margin.
• Best for AI: Not enough disclosed data to name a winner.
• Best for Efficiency: Snapdragon 6 Gen 1 — highest battery-life sub-score of the three.
• Best for Raw CPU/AnTuTu Throughput: Dimensity 7100 — highest AnTuTu total score and Geekbench multi-core score.
• Best for Video/Display: Exynos 9820 — dramatically stronger video capture spec and display resolution.
• Best Balanced Choice: Exynos 9820 — the most individual category wins despite its age.

Final Verdict

1. Exynos 9820 — Best Overall Despite being announced nearly eight years before its rivals, it leads every measured GPU benchmark, the highest display resolution, and by far the strongest video capture and playback spec — a clear demonstration that its original flagship-tier silicon still outperforms two much newer, mid-range chips in graphics and multimedia capability.

2. Dimensity 7100 — Best For CPU Throughput It leads the AnTuTu total score, AnTuTu CPU sub-score, and Geekbench multi-core score, and has the highest RAM ceiling of the three, but its GPU and video specs are the weakest of the group, and it’s missing a disclosed NPU and modem.

3. Snapdragon 6 Gen 1 — Best For Efficiency It trails both rivals on every measured GPU benchmark, but its newer 4nm process gives it the clearest battery-life advantage, and it has the fastest fully disclosed modem of the three.

Best for Gaming: Exynos 9820 Best for AI: Not enough disclosed data to name a winner Best for Efficiency: Snapdragon 6 Gen 1 Best Balanced Choice: Exynos 9820

Bottom Line: Choose a device built on the Exynos 9820 if GPU performance, display resolution, and video capability matter most — its flagship-era silicon still outperforms both newer rivals here, though at a real battery-life cost. Choose the Dimensity 7100 if raw CPU throughput and RAM capacity are the priority, and you can live with its weak video spec. Choose the Snapdragon 6 Gen 1 mainly for battery efficiency and modem speed, while keeping in mind it trails both rivals on every measured graphics benchmark.